Small Talk: No Pun Planned

[Irate Panda]

The Le Creuset Pumpkin Cocotte is adorable 🥰

The $368 price is not adorable 😔 

[Joan of Argh]

3 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

The Le Creuset Pumpkin Cocotte is adorable 🥰

The $368 price is not adorable 😔 

Still better than the Staub pumpkin cocotte and I think the handle on the Le Creuset is cuter ❤️

[SunnyBeBe]

Hey!  

[stewedsquash]

Congratulations @SunnyBeBe on your niece’s birth this week!
Yes to my middle son having them close. She will be one in November and the newest is expected in mid May. 
I love the name Palmer! My oldest son has three that are named with traditionally boy names from the 1800’s early 1900’s and start with the same letter and the middle one and his wife smooshed their names together to make their daughter’s name. Which ironically is a last name. 
 

Edited October 8, 2022 by stewedsquash
niece not granddaughter

[SunnyBeBe]

6 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

Congratulations @SunnyBeBe on your granddaughter’s birth this week! I hope you were able to visit with less restrictive rules in place. I got covid from my husband in March 2021 on a Friday and my 18m old was born that following Tues. I had the original covid that was terrible so I was terrified of spreading it to a newborn and didn’t go see her until a month had passed. It took me three weeks to recover. Then when the 10m old was born I was able to go to visit at hospital because rules had changed. 
Yes to my middle son having them close. She will be one in November and the newest is expected in mid May. 
I love the name Palmer! My oldest son has three that are named with traditionally boy names from the 1800’s early 1900’s and start with the same letter and the middle one and his wife smooshed their named together to make their daughter’s name. Which ironically is a last name. 
I told them they would have to smoosh this baby’s name so it doesn’t feel left out, ha. I was playing around with their middle names and came up with Willden.😂 I had no clue they were expecting when I told them and they think I was snooping when I was keeping the baby,ha. But I had also had a dream about a baby 2 or so weeks ago and asked each of my three son’s which one was pregnant. My daughter in laws think I am a witch.

That’s funny, but it is very coincidental that you had that dream!  I have similar things happen with me and dreams.  It’s like synchronicity.  I’ve read we are picking up on other’s thoughts and feelings.  I’ve had dreams of things that really were happening on multiple occasions.  
I like the name too.  This one is actually my great niece, not grandchild, but still we are close.  Mother looks just like me and many think she’s mine. Lol. I haven’t visited yet.  They are a couple of counties away in the hospital, but I have plenty of pics and a video.  Big sister kisses phone with pic of baby and and says “Sissy!”  So cute.   We are told it’s those two.  Their family is complete.  Lol. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

2 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

How could she be so active if she has cancer?  

We often have media images of people with cancer who have lost their hair due to chemo, are very thin (wasting), and are bedbound.  There are some folks with cancer, especially end stage, who are in that state.  However, the vast majority of people with cancer are living their lives.  There is extra stress, medical appointments, and treatments. Depending on the type of cancer and the type of treatment, people may need to limit activities or they may be able to carry on with most normal activities. Many people also continue working, especially if they live in a country where medical insurance is linked to work and they have financial stress. Also, obviously, if they simply feel well enough to do so. 

I am about to reach my one year clear from bone cancer.  I worked throughout my treatment.  I didn't go out as often, but then again, there was a pandemic so no one noticed.  I now have breast cancer, and I am still working full time.  Mine does not respond well to chemo, so I am doing neoadjuvant therapy (meds) to start. If anyone on the show has cancer, it may or may not be obvious. That is how it is in life.  We all likely know people with cancer; we just might not know that they have cancer. 

[Absolom]

A LOT of people with cancer don't look any different than anyone else.  I go to a specialty hospital for treatment and most of the time you can't pick out the cancer patients from the ones in the other specialized departments.  In fact someone with other problems may look more frail.  

[Irate Panda]

I have cancer now and have had it several times before  and I never lose my hair or anything.  I just get tired and sometimes lose a little weight and sometimes gain a few pounds! A lot of people don’t even know I’m sick and I’ve been dealing with this 2 years now.  Everybody has different responses to the treatments and the disease.

[Joan of Argh]

Just wanted to share this petition with anyone who’d like to sign, I’ve shopped at this market several times and “Mickey the shop cat” is always a friendly face and very well behaved… he’s like a ray of sunshine to everyone. ❤️

Please stop “Mickey the Shop Cats Eviction”

[Absolom]

I was scrolling through youtube cooking videos looking for a particular chicken recipe I wanted to try today and briefly checked out one I thought might be it.  It wasn't (used garlic salt instead of fresh garlic), but I stayed on it long enough to hear smoked paparika.  No, it wasn't a video by Amy.  

[Somebody]

Hi, I am very short due to Turner mosaic (but it's not the clasical dwarfism, my body is proportional).

I feel very annoyed and troubled by being stared at every single day of my life, so I wanted to ask you:

how do you deal with being stared at?

Hoping to get some tips..

[Somebody]

Two days later, I must add: I didn't even notice that this forum is about the TV show (awkward 😐), but anyway: I'm pretty sure that there are people who read here that are dealing with stares. 

[Irate Panda]

On 11/12/2023 at 9:24 AM, Somebody said:

Two days later, I must add: I didn't even notice that this forum is about the TV show (awkward 😐), but anyway: I'm pretty sure that there are people who read here that are dealing with stares. 

Hi! Welcome aboard! I don’t really deal with a lot of stares, but whenever I have had somebody stare at me I just give them a big cheesy grin which usually snaps them out of their gawking.  I’m sure it’s probably a lot more frustrating if you deal with this a lot.  I’m sorry people can be rude sometimes.

[Irate Panda]

Does anybody love their vehicle?  If so can you recommend a low maintenance sedan/hatchback/small suv. Looking for something that generally would last at least 15 years.  Don’t have a certain price point exactly but willing to pay for something that’s reliable and last.  Thank you😊

[woodscommaelle]

7 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

Does anybody love their vehicle?  If so can you recommend a low maintenance sedan/hatchback/small suv. Looking for something that generally would last at least 15 years.  Don’t have a certain price point exactly but willing to pay for something that’s reliable and last.  Thank you😊

I just traded in my 2022 Mazda CX30 for a Toyota RAV4.  The Mazda was a seriously smooth ride, but it felt too small for me (and I'm in a snowy state so I wanted a bigger/higher car for the weather).  Highly recommend it though.  No issues at all. 

 

[YupItsMe]

Not exactly small, but I have a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with over 125,000 miles and it has never been in the shop. My husband does keep up with regular maintenance himself, though. My daughter has a 2017 mid-sized Cherokee that is also still in perfect shape. There are smaller Jeep suvs that might be worth looking into.

Mine has been such a great car that I am not planning to replace it until it literally cannot move. 🙂

[Jst2Wld]

Just MOO from owning many used cars, it's just getting lucky with what you buy used.

However,  I appreciate the info from everyone posting here on the vehicles they have had good luck with. Great information. 

[Irate Panda]

Does anyone have recommendations for books or websites to help someone improve their (English) grammar? I speak fluently, but my written form is not the greatest.  I use grammarly for some things, but sometimes I’m like ummmm…I better throw a comma in because I haven’t used one in a while 😔.  I promise to share any tips or recommendations with Amy!! 😊

*On a related note: suppose vs. supposed confuses me for some reason.

 

p.s. I read a fair amount, but I feel like some books aren’t  grammatically correct nowadays (maybe I’m crazy).  I learned English fairly young, but speaking was always easier than writing for me.

[Irate Panda]

Does anyone have recommendations on tablets?  I currently have an old iPad Air.  I basically just use it to read the interwebz and watch videos on Hoopla or Tubi.  Does everybody just use iPads (if so what model) or are there other brands you like?

 

Also looking at getting a new phone, any recommendations on that? Currently I have an old iPhone, but I only get a new phone when my breaks, I don’t  really do normal upgrades.   I barely use my phone compared to most people my age.  I do use it to surf the internet only when I’m at the drs office waiting.  I play 2 games on it and of course text/call.  I asked my husband and friends and they seem to have outrageously priced phones to me.  I do like the new Razr but that is probably on nostalgia since a Razr was my first phone so I can’t justify getting it just for that reason.  
 

Things I care about:

• durable, I drop my phone and lose it (in my house) a lot 
• Like a smartphone, but don’t need it, so open to both
• want to stay under $700 (but willing to go higher if it is magical in some way)
• has a camera so I can take pics of my dogs 🐶 🐶

Edited August 12 by Irate Panda

[b4pjoe]

$700 total or $700 max for each.

Since you are used to Apple products you may be better sticking with those. Apple has a refurbished website that can save you some money. Their refurbished products look and work like new and they have a full warranty and if you want you can also get their extended warranty with their refurbished products (Apple Care). You can take a look at their refurbished products here:

Apple Certified Refurbished

As far as their phones I use an iPhone SE which is a smaller (and cheaper) iPhone but has the same software but I see they do not have any of those on their refurbished page. The price starts at $459 for a new one.

[Irate Panda]

39 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

$700 total or $700 max for each.

Since you are used to Apple products you may be better sticking with those. Apple has a refurbished website that can save you some money. Their refurbished products look and work like new and they have a full warranty and if you want you can also get their extended warranty with their refurbished products (Apple Care). You can take a look at their refurbished products here:

Apple Certified Refurbished

As far as their phones I use an iPhone SE which is a smaller (and cheaper) iPhone but has the same software but I see they do not have any of those on their refurbished page. The price starts at $459 for a new one.

700 or under for the phone and I’d say 1300 or less for the tablet.  Thanks I wondered if there was a major difference between the SE and reg iPhone other than size.

[b4pjoe]

2 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

I barely use my phone compared to most people my age.  I do use it to surf the internet only when I’m at the drs office waiting.  I play 2 games on it and of course text/call.

If you want a phone with a big screen the SE is not for you. The screen is 4.7" which is not that small but compare it to the 6" or larger one it looks small. For what you are using your phone for an SE would work fine if the screen isn't too small for you.

New iPad Air 11" starts at $599, 13" starts at $799

New iPad Pro 11" starts at $999, 13" starts at $1299

What I like about the Apple products is that Apple supports them longer than most Android manufacturers. By support I mean getting the latest version of the software that runs on them. With Samsung your are lucky if they support the next version of Android that comes out after you buy it. My SE phone isn't even the latest version of the SE but when iOS 18 is released in a few months I can install it on my old SE iPhone.

[Irate Panda]

26 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

If you want a phone with a big screen the SE is not for you. The screen is 4.7" which is not that small but compare it to the 6" or larger one it looks small. For what you are using your phone for an SE would work fine if the screen isn't too small for you.

New iPad Air 11" starts at $599, 13" starts at $799

New iPad Pro 11" starts at $999, 13" starts at $1299

What I like about the Apple products is that Apple supports them longer than most Android manufacturers. By support I mean getting the latest version of the software that runs on them. With Samsung your are lucky if they support the next version of Android that comes out after you buy it. My SE phone isn't even the latest version of the SE but when iOS 18 is released in a few months I can install it on my old SE iPhone.

Thank you this was a very helpful explanation! I do not mind a smaller screen. My friends are always jabbering about this one looks cute or this is the latest one, and I don’t really care about all that.  I just want something that works and that I feel is not a ripoff. I do not mind spending more if something is worth it.  I did not realize the iPad Air were so “cheap” .  I probably don’t need a Pro.  I wondered about refurbished items if they were problematic, but I didn’t realize the qualify for the warranty.

Edited August 12 by Irate Panda

[b4pjoe]

I have bought many refurbished Apple products FROM Apple over the years in my job before I retired. They are products people bought and returned or traded in on newer products. They go over them with a fine toothed comb and fix any issues if they find them. Everything I ever bought from them that is refurbished is packaged the same as new and you would not even know they are not new if you hadn’t ordered them. And like I said you get a full warranty and can get the extended warranty (Apple Care) if you want to pay for it.

[Irate Panda]

3 hours ago, b4pjoe said:

I have bought many refurbished Apple products FROM Apple over the years in my job before I retired. They are products people bought and returned or traded in on newer products. They go over them with a fine toothed comb and fix any issues if they find them. Everything I ever bought from them that is refurbished is packaged the same as new and you would not even know they are not new if you hadn’t ordered them. And like I said you get a full warranty and can get the extended warranty (Apple Care) if you want to pay for it.

Do you think the AppleCare is worth it?

[b4pjoe]

It is like insurance. Great if you need it. A waste of money if you don't. It just depends on how lucky you feel.  I usually get it when I buy an iMac but didn't for my iPhone or iPad as they are not as expensive to replace as the iMac. It is $99.00 for the iPad and $79.00 for the iPhone SE ($149.00 for Theft & Loss). Both devices come with a full year warranty at no extra charge. Apple care just extends it for an additional 2 years for a total of 3 years.